Collected Works of Ruan Ji

Yan KejunApr 2024

4.3

Word count: 21K words
Chapters: 23

Summary

This collection is part of the Complete Prose of High Antiquity, the Three Dynasties, Qin, Han, Three Kingdoms, and Six Dynasties, compiled by the Qing scholar Yan Kejun from a wide range of sources, including inscriptions on stone and bronze, miscellaneous records, encyclopedic works, notebooks, ancient commentaries, scriptural exegeses, and even Buddhist and Daoist texts. Each author is given a brief biography, and the sources of the collected texts are noted, giving the work considerable scholarly value. Ziang Culture has reorganized this monumental work for the present edition, abandoning the original division into volumes in favor of separate sections by author, so that readers may consult and use it with greater ease.

Editor's review

This book is a separately arranged edition of the Ruan Ji portion of Yan Kejun's Complete Prose of High Antiquity, the Three Dynasties, Qin, Han, Three Kingdoms, and Six Dynasties, similar in nature to the collected works of Ji Kang: it is a compilation of recovered fragments rather than an ordinary anthology. Its value lies first in its documentation of sources: Yan searched widely for Ruan Ji's writings in inscriptions on stone and bronze, miscellaneous records, encyclopedic works, notebooks, ancient commentaries, scriptural exegeses, and even Buddhist and Daoist texts, noting the source of each passage and appending a brief biography of the author, so that readers can trace the provenance of each piece and judge its reliability and context. This edition abandons the original division into volumes and issues the Ruan Ji portion as a separate book, making it convenient to consult on its own without searching through a massive collection, which is especially practical for researchers. It should be noted that recovered texts differ from the transmitted Collected Works of Ruan Ji in both contents and wording, and this book cannot replace a critical annotated edition. It is better suited as a reference work to be read alongside the transmitted edition, thereby observing the character of Ruan Ji's scattered writings and appreciating both the achievement and the limits of Qing scholars' work in organizing pre-Tang literature.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Professional readers studying Wei-Jin metaphysics, literature, and intellectual history
Researchers who need to verify the sources and wording of Ruan Ji's surviving fragments
Those interested in Qing scholarship on recovering lost texts and Yan Kejun's editorial methods
Enthusiasts with classical Chinese reading ability who wish to broaden their documentary horizons

Not a good fit for

Beginning readers who want analyses of Ruan Ji's Yonghuai poems and need annotations and translations
General readers expecting an anthology of Ruan Ji's works with introduction and appreciation
Middle school students with weak classical Chinese who need modern Chinese support

Reading tips

Begin by browsing the author's biography and the sources of the contents to understand the distribution and nature of the recovered materials.
Read alongside a critical annotated edition of the transmitted Collected Works of Ruan Ji, noting differences in contents and wording.
Read in groups by type of source, examining, for example, quotations in encyclopedic works separately from those in ancient commentaries.
Use it as a reference book to consult as needed rather than reading it straight through; take notes on key pieces.

版权信息
阮籍
东平赋
首阳山赋
鸠赋
猕猴赋
清思赋
元父赋
为郑冲劝晋王笺
诣蒋公奏记辞辟命
与晋文王书荐卢播
答伏义书
老子赞
通易论
通老论
达庄论
乐论
大人先生传
搏赤猿帖
孔子诔
吊某公文
附阮武
正论

FAQ

Does this book collect all of Ruan Ji's works?

No. It is a compilation of Ruan Ji's writings recovered by Yan Kejun from various sources, focusing on scattered fragments and source citations. Its contents are not identical to those of the transmitted Collected Works of Ruan Ji; the two should be used together and cannot replace each other.

Does the book include annotations and translations?

According to the available information, the book consists mainly of collected texts with source citations and does not mention modern annotations or translations. Readers who have difficulty with classical Chinese are advised to read it together with a critical annotated edition or anthology of Ruan Ji's works.

What are the advantages of dividing the book by author?

The original work was enormous, and its division into volumes made it inconvenient to consult a single author. With the division by author, the Ruan Ji portion can be issued as a separate book, making it more direct to find his writings and their sources, which suits thematic research and desk reference.

Can recovered texts be quoted directly as Ruan Ji's original works?

They should not be quoted directly without verification. Recovered texts come from secondary records such as encyclopedic works and ancient commentaries and may contain omissions, altered characters, or misattributions. When quoting, one should check the original source and consult a reliable critical annotated edition.

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About the author

Yan Kejun Author · China · 1762–1843

Yan Kejun (1762–1843), courtesy name Jingwen and art name Tieqiao, was a native of Wucheng in Zhejiang (present-day Huzhou). He was a Qing-dynasty philologist, textual scholar, and bibliophile. A provincial graduate of 1800, he served as an education official in Jiande. He devoted himself to the study of the Shuowen and to collating the stone classics, and his scholarship was distinguished by solid textual criticism. His most notable achievement was single-handedly compiling the Complete Prose of High Antiquity, the Three Dynasties, Qin, Han, Three Kingdoms, and Six Dynasties, which includes more than three thousand authors with brief biographies and has contributed greatly to preserving pre-Tang texts. The collection here contains 86 of his works, including the collected writings of Sima Tan and Sima Qian, Sima Xiangru, Dong Zhongshu, Ruan Ji, Ji Kang, and Emperor Wu of Wei, as well as the Complete Prose of High Antiquity and the Three Dynasties and the Complete Later Han Prose. These works span classical texts, Eastern philosophy, literary appreciation, and biography, reflecting his systematic organization and preservation of pre-Qin through Six Dynasties literature and providing an important foundation for later study of pre-Tang history, thought, and literature.